The Portland daily press., 1887-12-24
WOMEN IN THE WAR.
mary A. LIvernore Writes OF Their
Sacrifices and Labors.
rwomen's Journal

lWomen's Journal
The great uprising among men, In 1861,
who ignored party and politics, and forgot
sect and trade in the fervor of their quick
ened love Of country was Daralleled by
similar uprising among women. The pa
triotic speech and song which fred the blood
Of men, and led them to enter the lists OF
soldiers, nourished the self-sacrifce Of wom-
en-, and stimulated them to the collection Of
hospital supplies. and to brave the horrors
and hardships Of hospital life.
II men responded to the call Of the coun-
try when it demanded soldiers by the hun
dred thousand, women planned money-mak-
ing enterprises whose yastness Of conception
and good business management yielded mill
lions Of dollars to be expended in the inter-
est of sick and wounded soldiers. IL men
faltered not. and went gaily to death that
slavery might be exterminated, and that the
United States might remain intact and un-
divided, women strengthened them by ac-
cepting the policy Of the government un-
complainingly. When the telegraph re-
corded for the country defeat instead OF Vie
rtoy," and for their beloved death" instead
Of life" women continued to give the gov
ernment their faith, and patiently worked
and waited.
1t Is easy to understand how men catch
the contagion Of wsr, especially when they
feel the quarrel to be just. One can compre-
hend how, fred with enthusiasm and tnspir-
ed by martial music, they march 70 the con-
mons mouth, where the iron hail rains heayi-
est. and the ranks are moved ike grain 10
harvest; but for women TO send forth their
husbands, sons, brothers and lovers TO the
fearful chances Of the battlefield, knowing
well the risks they run-this involves ex-
quisite suffering, and calls for another kind
Of heroism. This women did throughout the
country, forcing their white lips 10 utter
cheerful good by" when their hearts were
nigh breaking with the fierce struggle.
The transition Of the country from peace
to the tumult and waste OF war was appall-
ing and swift: but the regeneration OF its
superfluities, retrenehed In expenditures, be-
came deaf to the calls of pleasure, and heed
ed not the mandates Of fashion. The incom-
ing patriotism Of the hour swept them to the
the loftiest height OF devotion, and they were
eager to do, TO bear. or TO suffer for the be-
loved country. The fetters Of caste and con-
ventionalism dropped at their feet, and they
sat together, patrician and plebeian, Protes-
tant and Catholic, and scraped lint and roll
ed bandages, OF made garments Tor the poor
An order was sent to Boston for Ave
thousand shirts for the Massachusetts
troops at the South. Every church In the
city sent delegation of needle-women to
"Union Hail." heretofore used as a bali
room. The Catholic priests detailed five hun
dred sewing girls to the pi0as work. Subur-
ban towns rang the bell OF the town-hall to
muster the seamstresses. The plebeian
Irish Catholic Of South Boston ran the sew
ing-machine, while patrician Protestants OF
Beacon Street cut and basted, and the shirts
were done at the rate Of thousand a day.
On Thursday, Dorothea Dix sent an order
for five hundred shirts for her hospital In
Washington. On Friday they were cut, made
and packed, and sent on their way that
night. Similar events were OF common oc-
currence in every other city. The zeal and
devotion Of women no more tagged through
the war than did that OF the army In the field.
They rose to the height Of every emergency,
and through all discOuragements and rever-
ses maintained sympathetic unity between
the soldiers and themselves that gave to the
former marvellous heroism.
At a meeting in Washington during the
war, called in the interest OF the Sanitary
Commission, President Lincoln said II
am not accustomed to use the language Of
eulogy. have never studied the art Of pay
ing compliments to women. But must say,
that II all that has been said by orators and
poets since the creation OF the world, In
praise Of women, was applied TO the women
Of America, 1t would not do them justice for
their conduct during this war. will close
by saying, God bless the women OF Ameri-
caP'
Entirely unacquainted with the require.
ments of war and the needs Of soldiers, IL
was inevitable that the first movements Of
women for army relief should be misdirect-
ed They could not manifest more igno-
rance, however, or blunder more absurdly,
than did the government In its early attempts
to build up an effective and disciplined amy.
Both learned by laundering. And out OF the
chaos Of individual benevolence and abound
ing patriotism with which women confront
ed the war In the beginning, the Sanitary
Commission finally emerged, with Its care
fully elaborated plans ana its marvellous
system. In this men and women worked to-
gether, with unfiagging zeal, till the war
ended. From first 10 last women were its in
spiration and its energizing force, and. as
DIR. Bellows constantly affirmed, There
was nothing wanting in the plans Of the
women Of the commission that business men
commonly think peculiar to their own meth
ods."
The development Of those years, and the
impetus given to women by the swift logic
Of events, which they rapidly learned and
have never forgotten, has been wonderfully
manifested since tnat time They are seen
In the temperance, missionary, phllanthr0pic
educational and political organizations which
they have formed and conducted with phe-
nomenal success. Quietly and persistently,
they have overcome mighty obstacles, and,
without much blowing OF trumpets or un-
seemly boasting, they are gradually becom-
ing invested with the franchise In these later
days. In Republican government this Is
the synonym OF legal equality. This Is the
goal to which all these efforts have tended
from the first. That achieved, to what may
we not aspire in the way Of civilizationl
The whole is better than the half. And IL
men, who are only half the human race, have
accomplished such noble results In eiviliza-
tion, what may we not anticipate when men
and women walk the world together with.
equal step, and crowned with equal rights
and privileges!
Then comes the statelier Eden back 10 men;
Then reign the worlds great bridals, ehaste and
calm;
Then springs the crowning race OF humankind"